Lynn's phone wouldn't stop vibrating.
At first, she ignored it. She and Lwandile were going through security plans for their next business launch—nothing was going to distract her.
Until she saw Lwandile's phone light up too. Then again. And again.
> "Babe," he said, eyes narrowing. "You might want to see this."
He handed her his phone with the screen already open to a news headline.
"SHOCKING AUDIO LEAK: Alleged Criminal Past of Socialite-turned-Entrepreneur Lynn M. Exposed"
Her blood went cold.
She snatched her own phone and opened her socials. It was everywhere. The audio Jayden had been holding onto—the one she had sworn no one would ever hear again—was already circulating like wildfire.
> "If this goes wrong, we burn it. All of it."
Clickbait headlines followed:
"Who is Lynn M really?"
"Crime Princess in Disguise?"
"From Gangster's Lover to Business Queen – Her Dirty Rise"
She blinked rapidly, scrolling, searching for anything—denials, explanations, damage control. But it was too late.
The internet had already made its judgment.
Her chest tightened. She had been careful. Every step. Every move. She had clawed her way out of that past, paved a new future with blood and sweat.
And now Jayden had dragged it all back into the spotlight.
Lwandile sat beside her, quiet but steady.
> "Say something," she whispered.
> "We expected this," he said calmly. "We always knew he'd go for the throat."
She nodded, trying to breathe, trying to think.
> "They'll dig now," she murmured. "Into everything. My family. My name. Even the ones who died."
Lwandile reached over and gently touched her chin, making her look him in the eyes.
> "Let them dig. What they find doesn't define who you are today."
Tears brimmed but didn't fall.
> "I worked so hard to be clean," she whispered.
> "And you still are," he said. "But now? We fight smart. We hit back."
She looked at him, and something shifted in her eyes—hurt turning to heat.
> "He wanted war," she said. "Now I'll show him what war with me looks like."